June 10, 2025 • 16 mins
Today's special guest is Yusef Jackson, Secretary of the Board of Directors and COO at the Rainbow Push Coalition, a leading civil rights and economic justice organization. He is also the Chairman of Operation PUSH and joins Host Ramses Ja on today's podcast to discuss the upcoming Rainbow Push Coalition Annual Conference.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Rainbow Push Coalition has been a beacon of hope
and a force for change in our community for decades.
Their annual convention brings together thought leaders, activists, educators, policymakers,
and community members to engage in meaningful dialogue, share innovative ideas,
and foster collaborative efforts to address pressing issues. Yusef Jackson
(00:21):
is the Secretary of the Board of Directors and the
chief operating Officer at the Rainbow Push Coalition. Is also
the chairman of Operation Push People United to Serve Humanity,
and he is our guest today.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
This is the Black.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Information Network Daily Podcast and I'm your host, ramses Jah.
All right, mister Yusef Jackson, Welcome to the show. It
is a pleasure to finally get some face time with
you and to be able to build with you a
little bit. And it seems like the timing is fantastic
because you have so much going on in your world.
(00:58):
Before we get to the meet and potatoes, I have
to say that it may have been twenty twenty, twenty
twenty one.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
After living.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Thirty nine years as a black man in this country,
I was fortunate enough to meet your dad and to
march with him, and we took a picture together and
it ended up on kind of a newspaper out where
I live. So, you know, I really got into the
weeds of the Rainbow Push Coalition and learned your name
(01:32):
a long time ago, back when that was taking place.
And so when I say that it's an honor to
be able to finally talk to you, I really sincerely
mean that. So I'll give you the floor because obviously
this is your show. Do us a favor. I gave
you a brief introduction. But one of the things we
do around here is we always kind of start our
stories at the beginning. So talk a little bit to
our listeners about who you are, what it is that
(01:53):
you do, and let our folks know who it is
that they'll be listening to today.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Yeah, I'm Yusuf Jackson. I'm cheap operating officer the Rainbow
Push Coalition. I run the organization day to day. My father,
Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, still remains this president of our organization.
He is a president and founder. Although he has been
stricken with Parkinson's disease, He's put up a mighty fight
against the disease for ten years now. It has taken
(02:21):
his mobility away and reduced the volume of his voice,
but it has not taken his mind, so he remains sharp.
He comes to work every day, He's at our broadcast
every Saturday. And I'm honored to be in a position
at fifty four years old and still have the counsel
of my father in these trying times. I want to
(02:43):
say thank you for Ramsays for sharing that story about
my father. My father has given his body and soul
to the improvement of life in America and humanity, and
he has put his body in the line for marching,
never been too low to take a knee with someone,
or never been too high to take a knee with someone,
(03:05):
or to do what's unpopular in the name of justice
and equity. I think what people have to understand is
that when you go to the boat, go to the
poll to vote, or when you apply to a college
and you're accepted, or when you go to the doctor
and you present your insurance card, those are not inalienable rights.
(03:26):
Those are legal rights that we have fought to have.
The majority of those rights came in nineteen sixty four
with the Voting Rights Act, with the Public Accommodations Bill,
and the Housing Act in sixty four, sixty five, and
sixty eight, and so those as those rights are granted
to us through and they were earned through the blood
and tears of rainbow coalitions of African Americans and men
(03:52):
and women and Jews and Hispanics and Asians throughout the
decades leading up to the sixties, the most famous of
which might be nineteen fifty four Brown versus Board of Education.
But you know, we gave a lot of blood, We
crossed a lot of bridges, We faced a lot of
dog attacks to win these rights and to earn these rights.
(04:13):
So their blood in those rights. It's interesting in nineteen
fifty nine, the African American poverty rate was fifty five percent.
That gave rise to what we needed in the country,
which was a great society to move these people and
other people out of poverty. Right, and so by nineteen
seventy three, the poverty rate for African Americans was eleven percent.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
It's now back up to thirty percent. So when you think.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
About the rights and the work and the oscillation of
in and out of poverty, we still have big gaps
to close.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
And so we're coming together.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
June twelfth through fourteenth in Chicago at the National Rainbow
Push Coalition headquarters. Our annual conference People's Conference, a Call
to Action. We're starting on Thursday with a luncheon at
twelve thirty. Rais an Al Sharpton and Reverend Jamal Brian
and others of that life will be joining us. A
good mix of pastors and civic leaders and labor leaders
(05:07):
from around the country are going to come together and
develop policy that we're announce at that luncheon. It's interesting
when you think about the evangelical movement that elected Donald Trump,
or the Federal Society or the Heritage Foundation. They didn't
ask the Republicans to give them policy. They gave the
Republican Policy Party. Then they showed out in big numbers
(05:29):
of vote and they elected the administration.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
That we have.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
We can't wait for anyone to give us policy. We
must develop policy and give it to the Democrats or
to the parties. And so then later that afternoon, doctor
Jamal Bryant's going to lead us a press conference in
front of a target in Chicago talking about his boycott
and his discipline use of dollars to bring about change.
You can't just say you want our foot traffic but
(05:54):
not want us to have a seat on your board.
And so he's going to lead us to that. And
then that evening we're gonna have a gospel concert led
off by a funny brother, Marcus D.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Wiley.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
I don't know if you ever heard Marcus, but he's hilarious,
a wonderful gospel comedian, followed by brother Darius Brooks from Chicago,
and Jakalin Carr is coming in town to give us
to do our to headline our gospel concert.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
Then on on.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Friday, we're having two very special guests, George C. Fraser
and John Hope Brian are coming to Chicago to lead
a discussion on black wealth. African Americans are one sixth
the wealth of white households. Hispanics are one quarter of
the wealth. If we simply invest in closing the gap
(06:39):
and black wealth, household household wealth and Hispanic household wealth,
it represents like a six to eight percent increase in GDP.
You almost can't get that investing in foreign countries. You
got invested in home to get that kind of return
on investment, and you can do it right here. The
President was in the Middle East a few weeks ago
and he tried he touted trillion dollar investments and countries
(07:01):
over there. I would love if any fraction a piece
of that money came to South Memphis, or to South
side of Chicago, or to Los Angeles, or to any
of our neighborhoods in the United States of America. We
could have a half a million dollars of technology investment
and you will see the return that you'll get, and
it'll be greater than that which you'll get investing in
(07:21):
other countries. I believe in America first, but that's how
I put it. And then we'll follow that by two panels,
one the role of the media today and then looking
back two hundred days of Donald Trump. So it'll be
an action packed Friday. Then Saturday morning we'll meet at
the Rainbow Push headquarters at nine thirty East fifty Street
(07:42):
in Chicago to talk about where do we go from here.
So you can learn more about our conference at www
dot Rainbow Push dot org. Www dot Rainbow Push dot org.
Registration is fee. There's a nominal fee for some of
the meal events, but generally we try to make it
till that everyone can participate and the levels are low
(08:03):
enough just to almost cover costs and then we rely
on sponsorship dollars. So it's consequential because all the things
we fought for under attack. Right now, all the laws
right up through the culture of the pictures and paintings
in the National Portraiture galleries are under attack. And he's
(08:23):
really left no stone on turned with respect to education,
the civil rights divisions, and the Justice Department, the Department
of Education.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
It's all earned attack. So we talk about the.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Gains of African Americans, Hispanic and women over the last
sixty years, and they've been incredible. It is ushered in
the greatest history a period of wealth that the country
has ever had.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
We've outpaced the world. Think about this, though.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
You couldn't have had the Atlanta the Olympics in Atlanta
under or behind the cart and the cotton curtain. You
had to bring down the walls of segregation to open
up our country. And now we're an example for the world,
and we are at risk of losing our standard in
the world if we cut back on our sciences, we
cut back on our immigration immunization programs for this affected
(09:14):
and less fortunate countries. So we have a lot of
work to do to maintain our standards. And then improve
on our great society, because there's still work to be
done to rebuild our bridges, our infrastructure, telecommunication systems, and
to move millions of people out of poverty. And that's
got to be our objective, to develop the kind of
country that our grandchildren would want to live in and
(09:36):
close these wealth games.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Hey, what's up.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
This is Ramsy's Jah and I am q Ward, and
we're inviting you to subscribe to Civic Cipher, our weekly
social justice podcast right here in the app.
Speaker 6 (09:46):
We pride ourselves on creating a show that fusters allyship,
empathy and understanding, all the while conducting journalistically credible research
featuring influential, noteworthy yests and empowering historically marginalized communities.
Speaker 5 (09:58):
The African proverb breeds want to go far, go together.
So we are asking you to search for and subscribe
to Civic Cipher.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
That civ I C C I P h E R
right here in the app.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Man, you speak like you want my vote, so you
should keep talking.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
I love it, I love it. It's fantastic.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
What I really want is brilliant brother that I'm not
trying to be grandizing. Brilliant brothers like yourself to join
our movement, because you know, these movements are imperfect ones.
They're born out of churches. The transition plans haven't been
that great. Sometimes we do things on paper, and we
work with a lot of volunteer staff, so for professional
(10:41):
people it can be frustrating our pace. You know, emails
may have misspellings and comma splices because volunteers wrote them sometimes.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
But you know what, you.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Can make a difference in these movements if you jump
on board. And so I say, don't discount your civil
rights organizations because the body of laws that you enjoy
right now will earned through people working through civil rights
organizations SCLC, Core, Rainbow Push Coalition in DOUBACP and Double
ACP Legal Defense Fund support. These organizations, support your local
(11:15):
churches because they need to improve.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
That's true.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
But you can sit on the sideline with the clean uniform,
or you can get out here on the field, or
you'll be a little bit sweaty, a little bit dirty,
and you might be a little bit afraid. But you're
making a difference.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Yes, yes, So that lets let's go with that for
a second. So you know, you mentioned, you know, the luncheon,
you mentioned the panelists, you mentioned the concerts you mentioned,
you know, Al Sharpton, doctor Jamal Bryant, Marcus Wiley, John Hope,
Brian I'm sure he's going to be on the show
in a couple of days.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
I'm sure he's going to talk about this as well.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
What about the role of the attendees, right, everyone has
their place in this. What is it that you're expecting
from the attendees and what is it that you're thinking
attendings will be able to take from it?
Speaker 4 (12:02):
Yeah, you know, that's really really important.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I'm trying to craft a different kind of conference where
you just don't sit there and listen and it's a
one way water hods of information that you're being fed.
So we've built in attendee participation. So come here to
this conference with your pen and pad, take notes, and
also be willing to share the value of being in
person and versus being online is the human connection. So
(12:27):
to come there and to come we have people come
from out of town. Obviously, to come from out of
town and not meet five or seven people that you're
going to keep in touch with is a.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
Disservice to your travel.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
So I asked that you'd come, prepare to open your
heart and you know, here's the thing you have to understand.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
To build coalition.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
You got to scoot over a little bit because you're
not going to agree with everybody and all of their positions.
But you have to struggle to find common ground. And
by finding common ground, we can make a lot of
progress together. So the Rainbow Coalition is a coalition of
people who have who are willing to.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
Find common ground.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
I don't agree with everything that you say or feel,
and I don't have to hook line and syncer accept
your platform. But where we have common ground, let's exploit
that growth together and get to know each other better
and fight for justice.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Okay, all right, Well before we let you go, I
want to just kind of appeal to the people that
are listening to the show that may not be able
to make it out there in person. Are there virtual
attendance options? And the truth is like where can people
go to get more information on the event and how
(13:34):
to support Yes.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
See, if you go to www Dot Rainbow Push dot org,
www Dot Rainbow Push door r AI n Bow Push
dot org is where you get the bulk of the information.
You can also check out the Reverend jcl Jackson Senior
Instagram page we populate that a lot, so between social
(13:57):
media and our website is where you'll get most of
the information. And we'll also be streaming some of the
conference online live right and we'll have that information up
on the website, and then after which we will publish
everything on our YouTube channel.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Fantastic okay, So then we will leave it right there.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Do us a favor if if it's meaningful, you know,
after the conference, as you're kind of in the planning
stages for the next year's conference, set aside some time
to come back and talk to us so that we
can fully recap what happened, and then we can, you know,
be a more influential and supportive partner with you as
(14:40):
you continue to you know, build these conferences so that
we can kind of again spread the word and get
people more involved because we have a few more years
of this current incarnation of politics in the country. And
like I said, the way that you're talking about it,
you sound like a person that has a solid command
(15:03):
of what's happening, what needs to be done, and how
to get involved. And I think that that's that's very special.
So my hat's off to you. Thank you for your time,
Thank you for the work that you're doing. It's an
honor to be able to talk to you. So this
is something that I would love to support, you know,
obviously now and in the future. So again, just something
keep in mind, all right.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Man, that endorsement means a world to me from the
bottom of my heart.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
It really does.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
I'll tell my dad we met today and thank you
very very much. I take you up on that. I
want to join you in studio though it's even though
it's summertime, Chicago can be fifty degrees.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Man, I need some heat.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Well I'm where the heat is, so you you pull
up and we'll get you in the studio.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
We got a.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Conversation and we'll do what we can.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
You know, you mentioned how how the role of the
media is sort of evolving and it's under attack at present,
and so you know, as long as we have the
platform and we can get you know, great thinkers and
great speakers such as yourself on, it's an honor and
it kind of validates the work we're doing. So you know,
if you're around our parts, please do so. And if
we're in Chicago, you know, we got a couple of
(16:07):
studios we can we can bend it twist a couple
elbows and get into a couple of studios out there too,
So we'll make it happen one way or another.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
All right, Thank you and God bless yes, sir once again.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Today's guest is Usef Jackson, the Secretary of the Board
of Directors and the chief operating officer at the Rainbow
Push Coalition.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
This has been a production of the Black Information Network.
Today's show is produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts
you'd like to share, use the red microphone talkback feature
on the iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be sure to
hit subscribe and download all of our episodes.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
I'm your host
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Ramsey's Jaw on all social media and join us tomorrow
as we share our news with our voice from our
perspective right here on the Black Information Network Daily Podcast
The Rainbow Push Coalition has been a beacon of hope
and a force for change in our community for decades.
Their annual convention brings together thought leaders, activists, educators, policymakers,
and community members to engage in meaningful dialogue, share innovative ideas,
and foster collaborative efforts to address pressing issues. Yusef Jackson
(00:21):
is the Secretary of the Board of Directors and the
chief operating Officer at the Rainbow Push Coalition. Is also
the chairman of Operation Push People United to Serve Humanity,
and he is our guest today.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
This is the Black.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Information Network Daily Podcast and I'm your host, ramses Jah.
All right, mister Yusef Jackson, Welcome to the show. It
is a pleasure to finally get some face time with
you and to be able to build with you a
little bit. And it seems like the timing is fantastic
because you have so much going on in your world.
(00:58):
Before we get to the meet and potatoes, I have
to say that it may have been twenty twenty, twenty
twenty one.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
After living.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Thirty nine years as a black man in this country,
I was fortunate enough to meet your dad and to
march with him, and we took a picture together and
it ended up on kind of a newspaper out where
I live. So, you know, I really got into the
weeds of the Rainbow Push Coalition and learned your name
(01:32):
a long time ago, back when that was taking place.
And so when I say that it's an honor to
be able to finally talk to you, I really sincerely
mean that. So I'll give you the floor because obviously
this is your show. Do us a favor. I gave
you a brief introduction. But one of the things we
do around here is we always kind of start our
stories at the beginning. So talk a little bit to
our listeners about who you are, what it is that
(01:53):
you do, and let our folks know who it is
that they'll be listening to today.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Yeah, I'm Yusuf Jackson. I'm cheap operating officer the Rainbow
Push Coalition. I run the organization day to day. My father,
Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, still remains this president of our organization.
He is a president and founder. Although he has been
stricken with Parkinson's disease, He's put up a mighty fight
against the disease for ten years now. It has taken
(02:21):
his mobility away and reduced the volume of his voice,
but it has not taken his mind, so he remains sharp.
He comes to work every day, He's at our broadcast
every Saturday. And I'm honored to be in a position
at fifty four years old and still have the counsel
of my father in these trying times. I want to
(02:43):
say thank you for Ramsays for sharing that story about
my father. My father has given his body and soul
to the improvement of life in America and humanity, and
he has put his body in the line for marching,
never been too low to take a knee with someone,
or never been too high to take a knee with someone,
(03:05):
or to do what's unpopular in the name of justice
and equity. I think what people have to understand is
that when you go to the boat, go to the
poll to vote, or when you apply to a college
and you're accepted, or when you go to the doctor
and you present your insurance card, those are not inalienable rights.
(03:26):
Those are legal rights that we have fought to have.
The majority of those rights came in nineteen sixty four
with the Voting Rights Act, with the Public Accommodations Bill,
and the Housing Act in sixty four, sixty five, and
sixty eight, and so those as those rights are granted
to us through and they were earned through the blood
and tears of rainbow coalitions of African Americans and men
(03:52):
and women and Jews and Hispanics and Asians throughout the
decades leading up to the sixties, the most famous of
which might be nineteen fifty four Brown versus Board of Education.
But you know, we gave a lot of blood, We
crossed a lot of bridges, We faced a lot of
dog attacks to win these rights and to earn these rights.
(04:13):
So their blood in those rights. It's interesting in nineteen
fifty nine, the African American poverty rate was fifty five percent.
That gave rise to what we needed in the country,
which was a great society to move these people and
other people out of poverty. Right, and so by nineteen
seventy three, the poverty rate for African Americans was eleven percent.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
It's now back up to thirty percent. So when you think.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
About the rights and the work and the oscillation of
in and out of poverty, we still have big gaps
to close.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
And so we're coming together.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
June twelfth through fourteenth in Chicago at the National Rainbow
Push Coalition headquarters. Our annual conference People's Conference, a Call
to Action. We're starting on Thursday with a luncheon at
twelve thirty. Rais an Al Sharpton and Reverend Jamal Brian
and others of that life will be joining us. A
good mix of pastors and civic leaders and labor leaders
(05:07):
from around the country are going to come together and
develop policy that we're announce at that luncheon. It's interesting
when you think about the evangelical movement that elected Donald Trump,
or the Federal Society or the Heritage Foundation. They didn't
ask the Republicans to give them policy. They gave the
Republican Policy Party. Then they showed out in big numbers
(05:29):
of vote and they elected the administration.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
That we have.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
We can't wait for anyone to give us policy. We
must develop policy and give it to the Democrats or
to the parties. And so then later that afternoon, doctor
Jamal Bryant's going to lead us a press conference in
front of a target in Chicago talking about his boycott
and his discipline use of dollars to bring about change.
You can't just say you want our foot traffic but
(05:54):
not want us to have a seat on your board.
And so he's going to lead us to that. And
then that evening we're gonna have a gospel concert led
off by a funny brother, Marcus D.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Wiley.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
I don't know if you ever heard Marcus, but he's hilarious,
a wonderful gospel comedian, followed by brother Darius Brooks from Chicago,
and Jakalin Carr is coming in town to give us
to do our to headline our gospel concert.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
Then on on.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Friday, we're having two very special guests, George C. Fraser
and John Hope Brian are coming to Chicago to lead
a discussion on black wealth. African Americans are one sixth
the wealth of white households. Hispanics are one quarter of
the wealth. If we simply invest in closing the gap
(06:39):
and black wealth, household household wealth and Hispanic household wealth,
it represents like a six to eight percent increase in GDP.
You almost can't get that investing in foreign countries. You
got invested in home to get that kind of return
on investment, and you can do it right here. The
President was in the Middle East a few weeks ago
and he tried he touted trillion dollar investments and countries
(07:01):
over there. I would love if any fraction a piece
of that money came to South Memphis, or to South
side of Chicago, or to Los Angeles, or to any
of our neighborhoods in the United States of America. We
could have a half a million dollars of technology investment
and you will see the return that you'll get, and
it'll be greater than that which you'll get investing in
(07:21):
other countries. I believe in America first, but that's how
I put it. And then we'll follow that by two panels,
one the role of the media today and then looking
back two hundred days of Donald Trump. So it'll be
an action packed Friday. Then Saturday morning we'll meet at
the Rainbow Push headquarters at nine thirty East fifty Street
(07:42):
in Chicago to talk about where do we go from here.
So you can learn more about our conference at www
dot Rainbow Push dot org. Www dot Rainbow Push dot org.
Registration is fee. There's a nominal fee for some of
the meal events, but generally we try to make it
till that everyone can participate and the levels are low
(08:03):
enough just to almost cover costs and then we rely
on sponsorship dollars. So it's consequential because all the things
we fought for under attack. Right now, all the laws
right up through the culture of the pictures and paintings
in the National Portraiture galleries are under attack. And he's
(08:23):
really left no stone on turned with respect to education,
the civil rights divisions, and the Justice Department, the Department
of Education.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
It's all earned attack. So we talk about the.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Gains of African Americans, Hispanic and women over the last
sixty years, and they've been incredible. It is ushered in
the greatest history a period of wealth that the country
has ever had.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
We've outpaced the world. Think about this, though.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
You couldn't have had the Atlanta the Olympics in Atlanta
under or behind the cart and the cotton curtain. You
had to bring down the walls of segregation to open
up our country. And now we're an example for the world,
and we are at risk of losing our standard in
the world if we cut back on our sciences, we
cut back on our immigration immunization programs for this affected
(09:14):
and less fortunate countries. So we have a lot of
work to do to maintain our standards. And then improve
on our great society, because there's still work to be
done to rebuild our bridges, our infrastructure, telecommunication systems, and
to move millions of people out of poverty. And that's
got to be our objective, to develop the kind of
country that our grandchildren would want to live in and
(09:36):
close these wealth games.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Hey, what's up.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
This is Ramsy's Jah and I am q Ward, and
we're inviting you to subscribe to Civic Cipher, our weekly
social justice podcast right here in the app.
Speaker 6 (09:46):
We pride ourselves on creating a show that fusters allyship,
empathy and understanding, all the while conducting journalistically credible research
featuring influential, noteworthy yests and empowering historically marginalized communities.
Speaker 5 (09:58):
The African proverb breeds want to go far, go together.
So we are asking you to search for and subscribe
to Civic Cipher.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
That civ I C C I P h E R
right here in the app.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Man, you speak like you want my vote, so you
should keep talking.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
I love it, I love it. It's fantastic.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
What I really want is brilliant brother that I'm not
trying to be grandizing. Brilliant brothers like yourself to join
our movement, because you know, these movements are imperfect ones.
They're born out of churches. The transition plans haven't been
that great. Sometimes we do things on paper, and we
work with a lot of volunteer staff, so for professional
(10:41):
people it can be frustrating our pace. You know, emails
may have misspellings and comma splices because volunteers wrote them sometimes.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
But you know what, you.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Can make a difference in these movements if you jump
on board. And so I say, don't discount your civil
rights organizations because the body of laws that you enjoy
right now will earned through people working through civil rights
organizations SCLC, Core, Rainbow Push Coalition in DOUBACP and Double
ACP Legal Defense Fund support. These organizations, support your local
(11:15):
churches because they need to improve.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
That's true.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
But you can sit on the sideline with the clean uniform,
or you can get out here on the field, or
you'll be a little bit sweaty, a little bit dirty,
and you might be a little bit afraid. But you're
making a difference.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Yes, yes, So that lets let's go with that for
a second. So you know, you mentioned, you know, the luncheon,
you mentioned the panelists, you mentioned the concerts you mentioned,
you know, Al Sharpton, doctor Jamal Bryant, Marcus Wiley, John Hope,
Brian I'm sure he's going to be on the show
in a couple of days.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
I'm sure he's going to talk about this as well.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
What about the role of the attendees, right, everyone has
their place in this. What is it that you're expecting
from the attendees and what is it that you're thinking
attendings will be able to take from it?
Speaker 4 (12:02):
Yeah, you know, that's really really important.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I'm trying to craft a different kind of conference where
you just don't sit there and listen and it's a
one way water hods of information that you're being fed.
So we've built in attendee participation. So come here to
this conference with your pen and pad, take notes, and
also be willing to share the value of being in
person and versus being online is the human connection. So
(12:27):
to come there and to come we have people come
from out of town. Obviously, to come from out of
town and not meet five or seven people that you're
going to keep in touch with is a.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
Disservice to your travel.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
So I asked that you'd come, prepare to open your
heart and you know, here's the thing you have to understand.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
To build coalition.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
You got to scoot over a little bit because you're
not going to agree with everybody and all of their positions.
But you have to struggle to find common ground. And
by finding common ground, we can make a lot of
progress together. So the Rainbow Coalition is a coalition of
people who have who are willing to.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
Find common ground.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
I don't agree with everything that you say or feel,
and I don't have to hook line and syncer accept
your platform. But where we have common ground, let's exploit
that growth together and get to know each other better
and fight for justice.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Okay, all right, Well before we let you go, I
want to just kind of appeal to the people that
are listening to the show that may not be able
to make it out there in person. Are there virtual
attendance options? And the truth is like where can people
go to get more information on the event and how
(13:34):
to support Yes.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
See, if you go to www Dot Rainbow Push dot org,
www Dot Rainbow Push door r AI n Bow Push
dot org is where you get the bulk of the information.
You can also check out the Reverend jcl Jackson Senior
Instagram page we populate that a lot, so between social
(13:57):
media and our website is where you'll get most of
the information. And we'll also be streaming some of the
conference online live right and we'll have that information up
on the website, and then after which we will publish
everything on our YouTube channel.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Fantastic okay, So then we will leave it right there.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Do us a favor if if it's meaningful, you know,
after the conference, as you're kind of in the planning
stages for the next year's conference, set aside some time
to come back and talk to us so that we
can fully recap what happened, and then we can, you know,
be a more influential and supportive partner with you as
(14:40):
you continue to you know, build these conferences so that
we can kind of again spread the word and get
people more involved because we have a few more years
of this current incarnation of politics in the country. And
like I said, the way that you're talking about it,
you sound like a person that has a solid command
(15:03):
of what's happening, what needs to be done, and how
to get involved. And I think that that's that's very special.
So my hat's off to you. Thank you for your time,
Thank you for the work that you're doing. It's an
honor to be able to talk to you. So this
is something that I would love to support, you know,
obviously now and in the future. So again, just something
keep in mind, all right.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Man, that endorsement means a world to me from the
bottom of my heart.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
It really does.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
I'll tell my dad we met today and thank you
very very much. I take you up on that. I
want to join you in studio though it's even though
it's summertime, Chicago can be fifty degrees.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Man, I need some heat.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Well I'm where the heat is, so you you pull
up and we'll get you in the studio.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
We got a.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Conversation and we'll do what we can.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
You know, you mentioned how how the role of the
media is sort of evolving and it's under attack at present,
and so you know, as long as we have the
platform and we can get you know, great thinkers and
great speakers such as yourself on, it's an honor and
it kind of validates the work we're doing. So you know,
if you're around our parts, please do so. And if
we're in Chicago, you know, we got a couple of
(16:07):
studios we can we can bend it twist a couple
elbows and get into a couple of studios out there too,
So we'll make it happen one way or another.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
All right, Thank you and God bless yes, sir once again.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Today's guest is Usef Jackson, the Secretary of the Board
of Directors and the chief operating officer at the Rainbow
Push Coalition.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
This has been a production of the Black Information Network.
Today's show is produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts
you'd like to share, use the red microphone talkback feature
on the iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be sure to
hit subscribe and download all of our episodes.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
I'm your host
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Ramsey's Jaw on all social media and join us tomorrow
as we share our news with our voice from our
perspective right here on the Black Information Network Daily Podcast
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.